1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of injection stretch blow molding. More particularly, the invention is concerned with an improved mold apparatus including a cutout between the nozzle cap sealing surface and the injection mold cavity configured for receiving the tip of an insert.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, a molded preform has a length of mold material called a gate extending from one end. This is the result of mold material present in the material passage leading to the mold space as illustrated in the prior art drawing of FIG. 1. The mold material solidifies in the passage and remains with the preform. Such also occurs in a one-step, integrated process.
The volume of the gate must be accommodated by incorporating a relatively large gate well in the center of the blow mold push-up or crown. This allows the gate to be centered properly and results in more evenly distributed material in the blown bottle.
However, small bottles or those requiring a shorter bottle crown height cannot accommodate readily the volume of the gate. A prior art solution has been to incorporate a gate clipping operation after the preform process in order to shorten the gate and thereby reduce the volume of the gate. This adds expense to the manufacturing process and may affect quality as well.